Abbie Smith’s neighbor raped her before stabbing her to death, grand jury charges

KEANSBURG — The man charged with stabbing young Abbiegail "Abbie" Smith to death is now charged with raping her, according to an indictment handed up this month by a Monmouth County grand jury.

The Oct. 2 charges Andreas Erazo, 18, with three counts of aggravated sexual assault in addition to the murder and weapons charges he was already facing.

The new charges are the first time that a motive has been established for the grisly crime that rocked the community.

Erazo, who lived upstairs from the 11-year-old girl's family, faces charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault for penetrating a child under the age of 13; first-degree aggravated sexual assault for committing the crime while armed; and first-degree aggravated sexual assault during the commission or attempted commission of a murder.

Abbie had been reported missing by her mother about 8:45 p.m. July 12. Her body was found the next morning at 10:45 wrapped in a blanket on a roof outside Erazo's apartment window.

Erazo was arrested hours later.

Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni called it "one of the worst crimes I've ever seen." Authorities said the little girl was stabbed in her neck. Most of her clothes had been removed and she was tied with a computer cord. Investigators said they found blood on the windowsill.

During a court hearing in July, prosecutors said Erazo had admitted to police to killing the girl. His attorney, however, argued that Erazo had not admitted to purposeful murder.

Erazo remains locked up at the Monmouth County jail, where he has been since July 14.